The Right and Wrong Ways to Treat Diarrhea

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• An encouraging article in a mainstream veterinary publication addresses the (mis)use of antibiotics to treat pets with diarrhea, and suggests nontoxic alternatives
• Thankfully, more veterinarians are realizing that antibiotics typically don’t help, and often exacerbate chronic or repeated episodes of acute diarrhea in otherwise healthy animals
• There are many different nondrug approaches to treat diarrhea, including introducing whole food sources of prebiotics and fiber, and fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT)
• In treating otherwise healthy patients with diarrhea, in my experience, the most effective first step, and the step most likely to provide long-term resolution of the condition, is to address the diet